The tragedy of the commons revisited: the importance of group decision-making

Article


Gillet, J., Schram, A. and Sonnemans, J. 2009. The tragedy of the commons revisited: the importance of group decision-making. Journal of Public Economics. 93 (5-6), pp. 785-797. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2009.02.001
TypeArticle
TitleThe tragedy of the commons revisited: the importance of group decision-making
AuthorsGillet, J., Schram, A. and Sonnemans, J.
Abstract

We use a laboratory experiment to compare the way groups and individuals behave in an inter-temporal common pool dilemma. The experimental design distinguishes between a non-strategic problem where players (individuals or groups of three) make decisions without interaction and a strategic part where players harvest from a common pool. This allows us to correct for differences between individuals and groups in the quality of decisions when testing for differences in competitiveness. Group decisions are either made by majority rule or unanimity. The results show that groups are less myopic than individuals (i.e., they make qualitatively better decisions) but that they are more competitive than individuals when placed in a strategic setting. The net result for groups deciding by majority rule is that they make less efficient decisions in the strategic game than individuals do. We are able to show that this is caused by the median voter departing from her original preference in early periods with a shrinking pool. When groups have to make unanimous decisions they start playing the strategic game more efficiently then individuals do, but they rapidly become more competitive with repetition of the game.

KeywordsCommon pool; Group decision making; Experiment; Majority rule; Unanimity
PublisherElsevier
JournalJournal of Public Economics
ISSN0047-2727
Electronic1879-2316
Publication dates
Online10 Feb 2009
PrintJun 2009
Publication process dates
Deposited19 Sep 2013
Accepted01 Feb 2009
Submitted21 Jan 2008
Output statusPublished
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2009.02.001
Web of Science identifierWOS:000266649400015
LanguageEnglish
Permalink -

https://repository.mdx.ac.uk/item/84612

  • 36
    total views
  • 0
    total downloads
  • 1
    views this month
  • 0
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

When the rich do (not) trust the (newly) rich: experimental evidence on the effects of positive random shocks in the trust game
Bejarano, H., Gillet, J. and Rodriguez-Lara, I. 2024. When the rich do (not) trust the (newly) rich: experimental evidence on the effects of positive random shocks in the trust game. Southern Economic Journal.
Is voting for a cartel a sign of cooperativeness?
Gillet, J. 2021. Is voting for a cartel a sign of cooperativeness? Games. 12 (2), pp. 1-10. https://doi.org/10.3390/g12020048
Trust and trustworthiness after negative random shocks
Bejarano, H., Gillet, J. and Rodriguez-Lara, I. 2021. Trust and trustworthiness after negative random shocks. Journal of Economic Psychology. 86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2021.102422
Do negative random shocks affect trust and trustworthiness?
Bejarano, H., Gillet, J. and Rodriguez-Lara, I. 2018. Do negative random shocks affect trust and trustworthiness? Southern Economic Journal. 85 (2), pp. 563-579. https://doi.org/10.1002/soej.12302
Leadership by example in the weak-link game
Cartwright, E., Gillet, J. and Van Vugt, M. 2013. Leadership by example in the weak-link game. Economic Inquiry. 51 (4), pp. 2028-2043. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecin.12003
Selfish or servant leadership? Evolutionary predictions on leadership personalities in coordination games
Gillet, J., Cartwright, E. and van Vugt, M. 2011. Selfish or servant leadership? Evolutionary predictions on leadership personalities in coordination games. Personality and Individual Differences. 51 (3), pp. 231-236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2010.06.003
Cartel formation and pricing: the effect of managerial decision-making rules
Gillet, J., Schram, A. and Sonnemans, J. 2011. Cartel formation and pricing: the effect of managerial decision-making rules. International Journal of Industrial Organization. 29 (1), pp. 126-133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijindorg.2010.03.015